Tuesday, October 11, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE

Jake Levine, Northwest Nazarene
F • 6-0 • Senior • Spokane, Wash.

Levine scored a pair of goals last week for the Nighthawks between their two wins at home. He opened the scoring by netting the game-winner on Thursday in a 2-0 victory over Montana State Billings. On Saturday, Levine found the back of the net with the first goal in a 2-1 win over Simon Fraser.

Also Nominated: Devin O’Hea (SFU), Enrique Gomez (WOU), Albin Jonsson (WWU)

DEFENSIVE

Braeden Anderson, Northwest Nazarene
D • 5-10 • Senior • Redondo Beach, Calif.

Anderson was a key part of the Nighthawks’ defense, which only allowed one goal on six shots through two matches last week. He played all 180 minutes last week and has started all 11 matches for NNU this season.

Also Nominated: Bryan Maxwell (MSUB), Lars Helleren (SPU), Niko Papakyriakopoulos (SFU)

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped its first match of the week, 2-0 at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, before battling to a 2-2 draw in Monmouth with Western Oregon.

• Jeremie Campagnolo was the highlight of the match for the Yellowjackets on Thursday, making 11 saves in net, the second most for any goalkeeper in the conference this year.

• Montana State Billings was forced to come from behind to earn its draw against Western Oregon after surrendering the first two goals of the match to the Wolves. The Yellowjackets outshot WOU 19-13 and finally found the back of the net when Bryan Maxwell scored in the 78th minute. Pascal Pisarek netted the equalizer in the 83rd minute.

• Montana State Billings wraps up its road trip at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene drew level on points with Western Washington at the top of the standings once again after taking a pair of home wins against Montana State Billings, 2-0, on Thursday and Simon Fraser, 2-1, on Saturday.

• The Nighthawks controlled the pace of play on Thursday, outshooting MSUB 21-2 with 13 shots on goal. Jake Levine scored the game-winner with his fourth goal of the season in the 76th minute. Ethan Atterberry added an insurance marker in the 87th minute to go along with an assist on the first goal.

• Northwest Nazarene faced Simon Fraser for the second time in seven days, getting the better of the Red Leafs on home turf and avenging their loss in Canada with a 2-1 win on Saturday. The defense shut down SFU, only allowing four shots while Levine and Lukas Juodkunaitis netted goals for NNU.

• Northwest Nazarene swept the GNAC Player of the Week Awards. Levine was named the offensive award winner and Braeden Anderson the defensive winner.

• The Nighthawks continue their season on the road at Seattle Pacific on Thursday and No. 24 Western Washington on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s earned a draw with Seattle Pacific at home on Thursday before narrowly losing out 4-3 to then No. 20 Western Washington on the road in Bellingham on Saturday.

• Saints goalkeeper Nick Mueller made four saves against the Falcons for his second shutout of the season.

• The Saints showed that they are rounding into form with an impressive showing against the nationally-ranked Vikings. Saturday’s match was a back-and-forth affair with both sides unable to take a decisive edge until the final whistle blew. Saint Martin’s equaled WWU with seven shots on goal and responded to each goal the Vikings scored until the game-winner in the 84th minute.

• Ethan Jud, Diego Andrade and David Seattle all found the back of the net for SMU. The three goals are the most that Western Washington has surrendered in any match this season.

• Saint Martin’s finds itself in fifth place, just two points back from third-place Simon Fraser in the standings.

• The Saints will play their only game of the week at home on Thursday against Montana State Billings as they look to continue to climb the ladder.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific played just one match last week, earning a 0-0 draw on the road at Saint Martin’s on Thursday.

• While unable to find the back of the net, the Falcons outshot the Saints 18-7.

• The Falcons are fourth in the GNAC standings with eight points. They are led by Andrew Tran in scoring with three goals and one assist. Seattle Pacific ranks third in the conference with 16 goals and second with 159 shots.

• Seattle Pacific will play a pair of matches at home this week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser had another split week with a 2-1 win over nationally-ranked Western Washington on Thursday at home before crossing the border and dropping Saturday’s match 2-1 at Northwest Nazarene.

• The Red Leafs were the first team to defeat Western Washington this year, ending the Vikings' 10-match unbeaten streak courtesy of a Devin O’Hea goal in the 72nd minute after both teams scored in the first five minutes of the match. The match was delayed for about an hour with roughly 1:30 to play due to an injury on the field for WWU, but SFU didn’t break under Western Washington’s final push.

• O’Hea found the back of the net again on Saturday, scoring the lone goal for SFU in the 12th minute. He is tied for third in the conference with five goals.

• Simon Fraser will play only one match this week, facing Western Oregon at home on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon earned its first GNAC point in program history with a 2-2 draw against Montana State Billings on Saturday in the WOU’s only match of the week.

• The Wolves scored the first two goals of the match, breaking through late in the first half when junior defender Enrique Gomez scored his first of the season in the 41st minute. Alex Grignon continued his strong freshman year with his team-leading third goal of the season in the 47th minute off a Gomez assist. A first GNAC win just eluded WOU as the Yellowjackets scored the equalizer in the 83rd minute.

• Juan Suarez continues to pace the conference with 58 saves and ranks fourth in the GNAC with a .734 save percentage.

• Western Oregon will face No. 24 Western Washington at home on Thursday before taking on Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington’s 10-match unbeaten streak came to an end on Thursday with a 2-1 loss to Simon Fraser on the road before the Vikings bounced back to a 4-3 win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• Andrew Rotter scored his second goal of the season in the fifth minute on Thursday to level the score at 1-1 after the Vikings scored in the second minute. The Vikings and Red Leafs remained in a deadlock until the 72nd minute. Western Washington narrowly outshot SFU 12-10.

• Thursday’s match was punctuated by a lengthy delay in with roughly 1:30 to play due to an injury to Western Washington’s Kyota Hiate. The junior midfielder has been a difference-maker for the Vikings with two goals and two assists this season.

• On Saturday, the Vikings came out on top in a high-scoring dogfight with Saint Martin’s where both teams combined for seven goals. Albin Jonsson netted his GNAC-leading seventh goal of the season in the 10th minute to open the scoring. Johan Espinoza and Joar Tidblom also scored for WWU, both breaking ties with the Saints but it was Mitchell Hutter who came through with the game-winner in the 84th minute.

• The Vikings remain nationally ranked, moving down to No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.

• Western Washington takes on Western Oregon in Monmouth on Thursday before returning home on Saturday to face Northwest Nazarene for the first time this season.